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Fin24 reports that as Eskom and trade unions sit down on Friday to discuss a deal that it is hoped will end a week of labour unrest and intense load shedding, business leaders have written to President Cyril Ramaphosa to say his government's efforts are not enough and more must be done to address the crisis.
Criticism is mounting that government doesn't have the urgency to deal with the electricity supply shortfall. And although it appears likely that an end to the strike is on the cards, it has damaged labour and political relations. The latest suggestions on how new energy generation could be expedited come from CEO of Business Leadership SA (BLSA) Busisiwe Mavuso and CEO of Business Unity SA (BUSA), Cas Coovadia, who have appealed to Ramaphosa to urgently "debottleneck regulatory processes" to assure security of supply. “Urgent action is now required, and we appeal to you as President of the country to act firmly and decisively to address this national crisis," said the letter. The regulatory processes relate to the registration of private or embedded generation projects by businesses, mines, farms and industry, but even if they are short-circuited and public procurement expanded, it will be 18 months to two years before new projects are built and ready to deliver power. Meanwhile, as Eskom management and unions return to the Central Bargaining Forum (CBF) on Friday and resume wage talks, tension over interference, high absenteeism, and continued intimidation make for a difficult negotiation environment. Unions were visibly annoyed by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan who prematurely announced on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached in the wage dispute before the CBF had even sat. Numsa demanded that the minister withdraw his statement and accused him of "jeopardising talks" by "preempting the outcome". It also became clear on Thursday that some union members were not ready to settle on Eskom’s revised 7% offer and wanted to continue the fight.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton & Khulekani Magubane at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
- See too, Small businesses are taking a hammering as Eskom power cuts bite, at Business Report
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page